Clunes hides his fictional alter ego well.
The rural Victorian town’s main street is lined with bookstores, quaint cafes and electric cars.
It’s a far cry from the desolate frontier outpost where fictional cop-turned-vigilante “Mad” Max Rockatansky first cruised the back roads in his yellow, red, and blue tracked car.
Clunes, Fraser Street in 2024 and 1977, where Mad Max was filmed. (Courtesy of MGM Studios)
Silverton, near Broken Hill, is different. It’s inhabited by tin houses and replicas of Max’s terrifying jet-black Ford Falcon Interceptor and other vehicles, illustrating this outback town’s movie star role.
Mad Max II Museum in Silverton. A New South Wales outback town is all about its ‘Mad Max-ness’. (Courtesy of Adrian Bennett)
Australia’s film city celebrates its moment of stardom in many different ways.
Dimboola in the Wimmera is famous for being the setting for a 1979 film about an outback wedding. Forty years later, the eponymous film remains the most famous thing about this small town (population 1,500).
Bruce Donnelly is chairman of the Dimboola Historical Society and owner of the town’s antique shop.
“[The film]still generates so much buzz around town, when people come into what I call ‘The Big Smoke of Dimboola’,” he says.
“It’s mainly the tourists who are interested. Personally, I like this movie because it has cameo appearances by local people, even though they are much older now. , is still alive.”
The movie Dimboola was the biggest thing to happen to the Wimmera town in the 1970s. (ABC Wimmera: Andrew Kelso)
Mr Donnelly admits that although there is more to the place than just the fictional wedding, the movie Dimboola is likely the biggest thing to happen in the town.
“It definitely put this town on the map at that time,” he says.
“I think people coming up the motorway will be shocked to see what Dimboola looks like now. It’s a vibrant little town. There are new shops opening, so it’s very different to what it was a few years ago. Masu.”
The old Dimboola Hotel featured prominently in the 1979 film Dimboola. It was destroyed by fire in 2003. (Wikimedia Commons: mattinghn / Dimboola Hotel / CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED)
The main drag is still a streetscape dominated by many of the same buildings, and will be familiar to anyone who enjoyed the movie.
But there is no Dimboola Hotel.
“About 20 years ago, the corner pub burned down and the town was hit hard,” Donnelly said.
“It was iconic because it was on the main street and it was featured in movies a lot.”
The remains of the Dimboola Hotel are now a park where local markets are held. (ABC Wimmera: Andrew Kelso)
Clunes’ transformation from mining boom town to bookish village is even more extreme. Nowadays, the literary festival Booktown is as famous as its film history.
Lifelong Clunes resident Malcolm Hull says Mad Max is one of the biggest things to happen there.
“A lot of the ‘new Clunes’ don’t understand what it was like,” he says.
“In 1977, movie cameras arrived in droves, and the town witnessed things never seen before.
Malcolm Hull, a lifelong resident of Clunes, lives on Main Street in town. (ABC Ballarat: Gavin McGrath)
“The history of the movies is unforgettable, but it’s not the main thing either. I’d rank Goldfield history first, then the books, then Mad Max. They’re all important, but that’s not the main thing. This is the order I put it.”
Hull said some of the props from “Max Max” still remain.
“Central Garage was featured in the Mad Max movies, and it’s still very much the same,” he says.
“The train station is completely different. It sat unused for a while, then underwent a $500,000 upgrade and is now back in use. The old building has been beautifully finished.”
If Clunes is a subtle nod to Mad Max, Silverton near Broken Hill is reveling in Mad Max-ness.
The approach to Silverton near Broken Hill still looks eerily like a 1981 Road Warrior stomping ground. (Courtesy of Adrian Bennett)
Adrian Bennett, a British expatriate, came to Silverton on some kind of quest and never left. He built and still owns a museum dedicated to Mad Max.
“If it wasn’t for the history of this movie, I don’t think this place would be as busy during the tourist season,” Bennett said.
“The thing is, we have a landscape here, and Mad Max has become such a huge cultural phenomenon.
“Most people who visit the museum come because they know that at least one Mad Max movie was filmed here, even if they are interested in Silverton’s history with BHP and silver mining.
“It’s not just Mad Max. There always seems to be a movie or TV show being filmed here.”
Adrian Bennett, owner of the Mad Max II Museum, came to Silverton on a journey to discover the world of Mad Max and never left. (Courtesy of Adrian Bennett)
On the other hand, “Hanging Rock” has undergone a different evolution from past films.
“Tourists still ask if[Picnic at Hanging Rock]was a true story, but that’s less common these days,” says Ruth Ellis of Hanging Rock Winery. .
“We are famous for the region’s Indigenous history, unique flora and fauna, and as a venue for concerts including Elton John, the Eagles and even the Rolling Stones, who were scheduled to perform here but canceled twice. .”
Visitors visit picturesque Hanging Rock for a variety of reasons, not just the famous novels and movies set in the Victorian heartland. (Courtesy of Jackie Henshaw)
10 iconic movie cities
Beulah (The Dry, 2020) — Beulah was renamed “Kiewarra” for the Eric Bana film.
A signpost outside Beulah reminds travelers of the town’s moment of stardom. (ABC Wimmera: Andrew Kelso)
Bonnie Doon (The Castle, 1997) — A popular holiday retreat along Victoria’s Lake Eildon. The Kerrigan family’s private residence can be seen from the side of the road.
Clunes (Mad Max, 1979) — The storefront seen in the original Mad Max is instantly recognizable in the Victorian inner town.
The Coorong (Storm Boy, 1976 and 2019) — The iconic coastal lagoon is the setting and location of both Storm Boy films. It is a protected area.
The original Storm Boy starring Greg Lowe and the 2019 remake were filmed along South Australia’s Coorong. (Courtesy: Australian National Film and Sound Archive)
Dimboola (Dimboola, 1979) — The Dimboola Hotel burned down in 2003. To commemorate the hotel’s place in the town’s history, a tower park was built on its site.
Little River (The Dressmaker, 2015) — “The Dressmaker,” starring Kate Winslet, was filmed in a number of locations in western Victoria, including Little River, Mt Rothwell and Horsham.
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) — A completely fictional novel and subsequent film about the disappearance of three schoolgirls and their teacher continues to draw tourists to the area.
Silverton (Mad Max II, 1981) — Home of the Mad Max Museum, this outback town in New South Wales is a popular destination for fans of the series.
Sofala (The Car That Ate Paris, 1974) — Another mining town in New South Wales that served as a movie set. This time it’s a quirky black comedy.
Walhalla (The Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky, unreleased) — Filming is underway on the Liam Neeson action movie. Historic Gippsland mining towns take the place of Nepali villages.
